Bahrain’s Peaceful Leader Sentenced to Life

The court sentenced him, along with his co-defendants; Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali al-Aswad (in absentia) to life, on Sunday, based on a trial, which lacks justice standards.

The trial is beyond a doubt a reprisal against Sheikh Ali Salman’s peaceful struggle for democracy, as he was supposed to complete his four-year sentence, on 28 December 2018, over charge of allegedly "inciting disobedience and hatred in the kingdom.”

Bahrain, a key ally of the United States and home to the US Fifth Fleet, has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011 when the government crushed the opposition movements, imprisoned thousands of dissidents and stripped many of their citizenship.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Salman has joined most of the opposition figures, who are sentenced to life imprisonment; under harsh conditions of detention and severe restrictions, in an attempt to silence the rest of Bahrain’s dissidents.

MORE...

The blatant verdict has been issued just ahead of November's parliamentary elections and amid the continuous clampdown against the peaceful protests, which have been held on a daily basis since February 2011, demanding freedom and democracy.

In 1994, Sheikh Ali Salman was arrested, tortured and detained for months without trial before being deported and forced to live in exile for over 15 years.

The parliamentary elections are scheduled for 24 November. In June, the government amended its law on political rights, prohibiting "leaders and members of political associations dissolved for violating the kingdom's constitution or its laws.”

Many members of the dissolved opposition blocs, including al-Wefaq and the secular Wa’ad group, have been banned from in the legislative elections.

Sheikh Ali Salman demands a constitutional monarchy and an elected government. He has long strife to grant all citizens freedom and justice on an equal basis, through their participation in the conduct of their public affairs, as emphasized through the international conventions and the Bahraini Constitution.

Amnesty International said the verdict is a “travesty of justice” and added that Sheikh Salman is held “for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.” “Sunday's ruling confirms there is now no tolerance for any dissent in Bahrain,” stated Brian Dooley, a senior adviser at Human Rights First.

Sheikh Ali Salman was acquitted by the high criminal court in June as had been charged with ‘collaborating with Qatar with the purpose of overthrowing Bahrain’s regime.’

Since June 2017, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states’ relations with the State of Qatar witnessed severe diplomatic tension. Bahrain along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed their ties with Qatar and banned their citizens from traveling to or communication with Doha.

Soon, in November 2017, Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor charged Sheikh Salman for communicating with Qatar, based on the well-known telephone call between Sheikh Ali Salman; in his capacity as the secretary-general of the main opposition political licensed group then, with the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem.

In fact, this call stemmed from an open and well-documented mediation attempt during Bahrain’s 2011 pro-democracy protests, which was encouraged by Washington, in March 2011 to resolve the Bahraini crisis.

Accordingly, this verdict is unfair and utilized just to promote the Gulf dispute with the State of Qatar. In addition, the call is documented in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI); founded by the King of Bahrain to investigate the 2011 events.

By that time, Qatar; whose membership is suspended now, was a member of the GCC and a friendly state to Bahrain. It was acting as a mediator between the regime and the opposition, as testified by Professor Chibli Mallat; a law professor and one of the mediators assigned by the US administration who witnessed the US-Gulf initiative.

The Public Prosecution has failed to provide the full original recording of the telephone call before the court. Sheikh Salman’s defense team has presented exculpatory evidence before the court, which affirms that the call; on which the charges are based on, has been clipped and manipulated.

Although the Bahraini official media published only a clip from the call, the issues that were discussed during that dialogue do not violate the laws but emphasize Sheikh Ali Salman’s peaceful approach to resolve the crisis.

Earlier in 2017, the government ratified a constitutional amendment granting military courts the authority to try civilians before military courts. The United Nations and various human rights organizations have criticized Bahrain over its politically-motivated ill-treatment of the prisoners of conscience.

Sondoss is a Lebanese freelance journalist and translator; based in Beirut, Lebanon. Al Asaad writes on issues of the Arabs and Muslims world, with a special focus on the situation in Yemen and Bahrain.